Magazines

Professional golfer Bob Toski, widely regarded as one of the best teachers of the game, has withdrawn from the PGA Senior Tour after admitting that he may have violated the rules of golf. In a prepared statement released by the PGA, Toski said: "In the late fall of 1985, one of my fellow players brought to my attention that I may have been violating the rules of golf by mismarking my ball.

Now that didn't take long. A little over a week after Los Angeles Magazine broke the story of Yasiel Puig's harrowing escape from Cuba to become the Dodgers' star outfielder, the rights to the Jesse Katz article have been sold to Hollywood. And good luck casting that part. Brett Ratner and his RatPac Entertainment made the purchase. Ratner is the director who gave Marvel possibly its worst movie, “X-Men: The Last Stand.” Purchase of the story was broken by The Hollywood Reporter , which, it should be noted, is owned by executives of Guggenheim Partners, which just happen to own the Dodgers.

After the coffee. Before figuring out who forgot to send me a valentine. The Skinny: I'm in D.C., where a tiny bit of snow and rain has frozen the roads and created distress. In my youth that meant snow day! Now it's just a pain in the you-know-what. Thursday's headlines include Time Warner looking to unload many of its magazines and a review of the new "Die Hard" movie. Daily Dose: Actor J.K. Simmons is doubling down on his TV options. Set to star in an ABC mid-season comedy called "Family Tools," he has now also been cast in a new NBC sitcom in development for next season.

SACRAMENTO -- For years, Gray Davis has told a favorite story about Jerry Brown and his carpet. When Brown was governor in the 1970s, he refused to patch a hole in the carpet of his Capitol office, hoping that his display of frugality would be emulated across state government. Davis, who was Brown's chief of staff before becoming governor himself, got a chance to retell the story in the new issue of Time magazine. He wrote a short article about Brown , one of the publication's 100 most influential people.

Re "Idea rich, postage poor," Opinion, May 28 Teresa Stack and Jack Fowler correctly note that small magazines "have an outsized effect on public discourse," yet their commentary ignores the substantial editorial discounts enjoyed by all magazines. The Postal Regulatory Commission's recent recommendation preserves and fosters the continued widespread dissemination of political and cultural thought by increasing the editorial discount available to all magazine mailers. As a result of our approach, the smallest publications, those with circulations of 15,000 or less, will see lower increases than under proposals made by large publishers or the Postal Service.

SACRAMENTO - Arnold Schwarzenegger has found lots of ways to keep busy since leaving the governor's office, including starring in action movies and lending his name to a policy institute at USC. Now he'll return to a role that stirred controversy during his time in Sacramento: serving as executive editor of Muscle & Fitness and Flex magazines. The move was announced Friday by American Media Inc., which owns the magazines. Schwarzenegger, who was named Mr. Olympia seven times, first took the editorship shortly after winning the 2003 gubernatorial recall election.

Whether you're interested in comets or cooking, photography or soccer or mystery stories, there's bound to be a magazine in which you can explore your interests. Many can be found on the Internet. Magazines can inform you of recent discoveries, teach you valuable techniques, inspire you with ideas and connect you with fellow enthusiasts. Discover the joy of reading magazines and learning about what fascinates you through the direct links on The Times' Launch Point Web site: http://www.latimes.

Powerful Media Inc., New York-based operator of the online journalistic venture Inside.com, will launch a print magazine in conjunction with the Industry Standard, a magazine that covers the Internet industry. The print product was expected, but the partnership with a highly successful trade magazine may add credibility to the new publication, which will cover the news and entertainment media as they adapt to new technologies. Michael Hirschorn, editor in chief of Inside.

Janice Min, editor in chief of US Weekly magazine, was on vacation in Colorado when news of the biggest celebrity death since, well, Farrah Fawcett's a few hours earlier, started her cellphone ringing. And ringing and ringing and ringing. Min, who was driving, didn't pick up, but she glanced at her incoming e-mails. "Oh my God, I got like 40 e-mails in 60 seconds," said Min, whose holiday evaporated with news of Michael Jackson's death this week. "I haven't been out of my hotel room since."

While our living room bookshelves might be getting lighter (every tome under the sun is available via tablet these days!), our kitchen shelves have been getting a bit heavier, thanks to the recent influx of indie cooking magazines. Long live print. Subscriptions typically cost less than a cookbook, but they're just as informative -- often detailing recipes with in-season ingredients and featuring a timely who's who of in-demand chefs. Here are five indie cooking mag picks, but fair warning: You and your iPad might be spending less time together once the issues start surfacing in your mailbox.

SAN FRANCISCO -- On the publication day of a second magazine article detailing Yasiel Puig's dangerous escape from Cuba, the main subject of the story was smiling. “I feel normal,” Puig said in Spanish. “I'm focused on baseball and giving the best of myself to the team and, hopefully, everything turns out well on the field. Those things that are happening aren't affecting me.” Asked how he could remain focused in light of recent revelations about his past, Puig was about to start answering, only for a Dodgers staffer to prevent him from doing so. The next inquiry was also shut down by Roman Barinas, the Dodgers' manager of international scouting.

SAN FRANCISCO - In a statement issued by his agent Wednesday, Yasiel Puig said he won't be saying anything about the recent Los Angeles Magazine article detailing his escape from Cuba. “I'm aware of the recent articles and new accounts. I understand that people are curious and have questions, but I will have no comment on this subject. I'm represented on this matter, and I'm only focused on being a productive teammate and helping the Dodgers win games.” Adam Katz, Puig's agent, released the statement.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Yasiel Puig remained silent Tuesday about the Los Angeles Magazine article that told a story of his escape from Cuba and the death threats he purportedly received last year from human traffickers under control of a major Mexican drug cartel. Manager Don Mattingly said he has spoken to Puig to check on his mental state. Asked how Puig seemed, Mattingly replied, “Fine.” Mattingly said he hadn't read the article but had heard about it. He said he wasn't worried about the team's safety.

Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig is typically reticent to discuss any topic with the media, but the one subject he has always made completely off-limits was how he escaped from Cuba. And apparently with excellent reason. An exclusive story in Los Angeles Magazine details his complex odyssey, a stunning tale of human trafficking, smugglers, a drug cartel, a staged kidnapping, betrayal, revenge and even alleged death threats. The monthly magazine said the lengthy investigative report took contributing writer Jesse Katz five months to piece together.

Seemingly from the moment Cuban refugee Yasiel Puig showed up at Dodger Stadium out of nowhere, arriving last June unwilling to discuss his unknown background, the talk behind the batting cages has been rife with unprintable rumors. There were rumors Puig was smuggled out of Cuba by members of a Mexican drug cartel. There were rumors he still owed the smugglers money, and that his life could be in jeopardy. There was talk about Puig being essentially owned by a Miami businessman with a criminal record who hired those smugglers in exchange for 20% of the ballplayer's future earnings.

Derek Jeter is a captain of the New York Yankees and, by definition, a leader of that team. He has helped the Yankees win five World Series championships and has done nothing off the field to sully his image or that of the team. The players love him. Fans adore him. All qualities of a great leader ... of a sports team. But Fortune magazine may have taken Jeter-worship to a ridiculous new level by naming the Yankees shortstop the 11th greatest leader in the world. Not just the sports world, mind you, but the entire planet.

WASHINGTON - The current Cosmopolitan magazine explains the Affordable Care Act with the "Top Eight Ways Young Women Benefit from Obamacare. " Glamour lays out the "Five Things You Need to Know" about the marketplaces kicking into gear Tuesday. The other night, late-night TV host Conan O'Brien put his own spin on the meme with "Ten Pre-existing Conditions to Drive Your Man Crazy. " At the White House, which is pushing the message hard with women's magazines, officials laughed.

With the presidential primaries, the Occupy movement, continued unrest in the Middle East and the Kim Kardashian wedding disaster, it's not as if there was a shortage of news in the second half of 2011. But you wouldn't know it looking at newsstand sales for the nation's magazines. Single-copy sales of consumer magazines took a major hit in the second half of last year, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Publishers sold 28.9 million newsstand copies, 10% less than the number sold over the same period in 2010.

When I saw the first tweet about this, I truly thought it was a hoax. But no, it seems wine critic Robert M. Parker Jr. is launching a lifestyle magazine. Wine-searcher.com has the story and describes the mag as aimed at "high net-worth individuals and corporate leaders. " In other words, Robb Report territory. And what will his new magazine be called? It's not hard to guess: “100 Points by Robert Parker.” Oh, no. Oh, yes. John Stimpfig reports that The Wine Advocate has signed a deal with publishers Hubert Burda Media to publish the new international lifestyle magazine quarterly.

Jerry Lockenour couldn't predict what lay ahead for him 25 years ago when he stashed the Los Angeles Times' Magazine on a cabinet shelf. The April 3, 1988, magazine's cover illustration showed bubble-shaped cars traveling in "electro lanes" on a double-decked, high-rise-lined 1st Street in downtown's Civic Center area. The cover's headline was "L.A. 2013: Techno-Comforts and Urban Stresses - Fast Forward to One Day in the Life of a Future Family. " Inside was a lengthy essay that described a day in the life of a fictional Granada Hills family in April 2013.